Lorenzen connected for a pinch-hit shot to begin Cincinnati’s comeback, Jesse Winker added a pinch-hit, three-run homer in a big seventh, and the Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 8-6 Sunday for their seventh straight win.
Lorenzen’s homer was the third of his career and second in two games by a Reds pitcher. Anthony DeSclafani hit a grand slam on Saturday, the first by a Reds pitcher since 1959.
”In a game like today we feel like we’re not meant to lose,” Lorenzen said.
The last-place Reds completed a four-game sweep of the Cubs for the first time since 1983 at Riverfront Stadium. Their winning streak is their longest since a 10-game surge in July 2012.
”We know what we can do,” Winker said. ”It is cool coming to the field and expecting to win. We’re in June right now. We are taking care of June. To win a game, it takes a group effort. There’s plenty of season left. We’re going to keep grinding good at bats. It’s been a lot of fun.”
After Chicago scored five times in the fifth, Lorenzen homered in the bottom half.
The Reds trailed 6-1 going into the seventh. Winker went opposite field on Pedro Strop’s first pitch after relieving Mike Montgomery to cut Chicago’s lead to 6-5.
Joey Votto delivered the go-ahead double as the next four batters reached against Strop (3-1), who retired just two of the nine batters he faced in his first appearance since Tuesday.
”Strop had plenty of rest – maybe too much,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. ”I felt like he was the right guy. It just didn’t work. They got two pinch-hit homers 49ers Cheap Jerseys , one by a pitcher. They had some great at-bats.”
Said Strop: ”It’s always good to be fresh.”
”I’m not blaming that. I didn’t feel like I had command of my fastball. I think that was the key. I was getting behind hitters, and I was a little bit too fine when I got ahead,” he said.
Jose Peraza drove in two runs and Tucker Barnhart had the game-tying RBI as the Reds set a season high for runs.
”We’ve never quit,” manager Jim Riggleman said. ”We’ve always battled. It’s Major League Baseball. You better keep playing for nine innings. We had that stretch where we were down three or four runs in the early innings. We were competitive and came back in some of them. As of late, we haven’t had to do that. The starters have done a good job.”
Seven runs are the most allowed in one inning this season by the Cubs, who have lost six of their last eight.
”You don’t change things,” Maddon said. ”You still eat. You still sleep. You still pet your puppy.”
The Reds overcame a fifth-inning two-run homer by slumping Anthony Rizzo, who went 1-for-14 in the series, and a solo shot by Albert Almora Jr. off Jackson Stephens (1-0), which gave Chicago a 6-1 lead in the seventh.
Amir Garrett had three strikeouts in the eighth before Raisel Iglesias picked up his 13th save.
Montgomery started in place of Tyler Chatwood, who left for Chicago early Sunday morning when his wife went into labor. The left-hander kept the Reds scoreless until Lorenzen’s homer with two outs in the fifth inning.
START OVER
Reds 3B Eugenio Suarez went 0 for 3 before leaving in a double switch Seahawks Cheap Jerseys , snapping his hitting streak at a career-high 13 games, the longest active streak in the major leagues.
BIG STEP
Cubs RHP Yu Darvish is expected to throw 75 pitches or four to five innings of his first rehab start on Monday with Single-A South Bend. Darvish has been out since May 20 with right triceps tendinitis.
QUICK RETURN
The Reds activated OF Scott Schebler from the bereavement list before Sunday’s after missing three games, the minimum amount of time he could spend on the list. OF Phillip Ervin was optioned to Triple-A Louisville. Schebler went 1 for 3 with two walks.
WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR
Sunday’s game was the Cubs’ last in Cincinnati this season. The remaining 10 games between the two teams will be played in Chicago.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cubs: 3B Kris Bryant missed his second straight start and is day-to-day with a sore left shoulder.
Reds: RHP Homer Bailey, out since June 2 with right knee inflammation, threw 86 pitches in six innings of a rehab start with Triple-A Louisville on Saturday.
UP NEXT
Cubs: RHP Duane Underwood will be recalled from Triple-A Iowa to make his major league debut as Chicago tries to keep its starters on regular rest.
Reds: RHP Tyler Mahle (6-6) is 3-0 with a 1.61 ERA in four June starts.
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The Pittsburgh Pirates had what looked like an out turn into a home run. They made a couple of questionable decisions, endured some nerve-wracking moments in the ninth inning.
But they’re leaving Arizona with a win, which is all that really matters. Everything else can wait.
Jordy Mercer homered and had three RBIs, Jameson Taillon pitched seven effective innings and the Pirates avoided a sweep with a 5-4 victory over the Diamondbacks on Wednesday.
”We won. Let’s get on a plane and go home,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. ”We can peel back the layers later.”
The Pirates blew a five-run lead in the opener and were knocked for 13 runs in the second game. Pittsburgh ended Arizona’s sweep bid with a four-run second inning against Zack Greinke (5-5) and a sterling performance by Taillon (4-5).
Taillon gave up a two-run homer to David Peralta in the first inning when the ball popped out of left fielder Austin Meadows‘ glove and over the wall. Taillon got better as the game went along, working out of a jam in the second inning and allowing two runs on six hits to help end Arizona’s five-game winning streak.
Felipe Vazquez gave up a two-run single to pinch-hitter Jon Jay in the ninth before striking out Jake Lamb with the bases loaded for his 12th save.
”When you run into a team that’s pesky with two strikes, they’re tough to put away Arizona Cardinals Jerseys Womens ,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. ”You’re going to run into some situations when you make mistakes.”
Taillon has enjoyed pitching in the afternoon, entering Wednesday’s game 8-2, including 3-0 on the road before the sun goes down. He got an unfortunate break in the first inning, when Peralta’s deep shot caromed out of Meadows’ glove as he leaped near the wall.
Taillon struck out Paul Goldschmidt with the bases loaded to end the second inning and struck out four.
”It was a weird start, but I felt really good,” Taillon said. ”I kind of had that mindset, like let’s see if I could get my pitch count right through six.”
Greinke has been dominant at Chase Field the past two seasons, going 16-1 with 2.53 ERA at Chase Field since 2017.
Arizona’s ace struggled with his command against the Pirates, walking four while striking out seven. Greinke walked two in Pittsburgh’s four-run second inning, giving up a two-run double to Mercer and a run-scoring double to Josh Bell. Mercer hit a solo homer in the fourth to put Pittsburgh up 5-2.
Greinke was lifted after walking two in the fifth to load the bases with two outs. He allowed five runs on five hits and struck out seven.
”I felt good, but every time I put a pitch over the plate Atlanta Falcons Jerseys Womens , they hit it good,” said Greinke, who had not lost at Chase Field since last Aug. 9 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. ”As long as I’m able to make good pitches it’s fine, but I wasn’t able to do that every time.”
MEADOWS’ MISCUE
One of the things the Pirates will look at when they get home is Meadows’ miscue that led to Peralta’s home run. He leaped to catch the ball just before colliding with the wall, but the ball appeared to carom out before contact was made.
”I haven’t said anything to him; we’ll show him the video,” Hurdle said. ”There’s room to go get the ball and it kind of looked like it was the fence or he drifted on the ball, there was hesitation. He had time to get under that ball or at least get to it quicker.”
DIAMONDBACKS MOVES
Arizona reinstated C Jeff Mathis from paternity leave and optioned RHP Braden Shipley to Triple-A Reno. Mathis’ wife, Jenna, gave birth to their second daughter on Sunday.
TRAINER’S TABLE
Pirates: C Francisco Cervelli returned to the lineup after missing three games while being monitored for post-concussion symptoms. He was struck on the mask by a foul ball Saturday against the Chicago Cubs.
Diamondbacks: LHP Robbie Ray (strained right oblique) is expected to throw about 50 pitches in his rehab start with Single-A Visalia on Thursday.
UP NEXT
The Pirates have a day off before right-hander Chad Kuhl the Cincinnati Reds Friday at home. Kuhl is 1-1 with a 2.78 ERA in four career starts against the Reds.
Arizona RHP Matt Koch is 2-0 with a 5.29 ERA his past three starts heading into Thursday’s game against the New York Mets.
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